5 Deep Sleepers at Tight End

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A fantasy draft is all about obtaining the most value with each selection. Value is available throughout a draft, and grabbing it is one of the most important keys to a successful fantasy team. This article specifically targets deep sleeper value (players that can be found very late in a fantasy draft). To point out this value, we asked our staff to look deeper than the Top 150 and identify players that should significantly outperform their late draft position. These players should be your targets after the 12th round of your draft.

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Here are the tight ends who received the most deep-sleeper votes:

• Jake Ferguson
• Hayden Hurst
• Sam LaPorta
• Trey McBride
• Irv Smith Jr.

And here are all of the players mentioned and the reasons why.

Player Receiving 4 Votes

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

Jason Wood: Like all Cardinals, McBride's future is uncertain due to Kyler Murray's unclear timeline for return from a torn ACL. However, assuming the new coaching staff can coax league-average quarterback play from someone else, McBride boasts as much upside as any tight end chosen ten rounds earlier. Fantasy managers have seemingly forgotten McBride's pedigree, focusing instead on this year's rookie class. But remember, most of the league's best tight ends struggled in their rookie years, so it's wiser to take a late-round flier on a second- or third-year player. McBride dominated his final college season and possesses all the necessary tools to be a high-volume receiver, regardless of the game script.

Phil Alexander: Arizona might have the worst wide receiver room in the league. With the pop-gun-armed Colt McCoy expected to quarterback at least half of their games, keep an eye on the athletic McBride, who is now in his second season. He is likely to receive heaps of short-area targets and could emerge as a passable starter in PPR leagues.

Gary Davenport: It’s tempting to list Zach Ertz here, even though he’s a 32-year-old player coming off a major knee injury. But the wiser move is to target the youngster who could supplant Ertz as Arizona’s No. 1 tight end by the time Ertz is healthy. Yes, quarterback play in Arizona is a question. There’s also a new offense that may not target the tight end position as much as Kliff Kingsbury’s. But a healthy Ertz was a rock-solid fantasy starter with the Cardinals, McBride was the top tight end prospect in the nation two years ago, and whoever Arizona’s quarterback is in Week 1 will need a safety valve over the middle. If you fade the big names at tight end early, McBride’s a name to keep in mind late on draft day.

Jeff Bell: We know young tight ends take time. McBride should be no exception. He was unanimously TE1 in the 2022 class. The 2021 John Mackey Tight End Award winner went a round before any other tight end. But while players like Greg Dulcich and Chigoziem Okonkwo get the buzz on a glow-up, McBride is an afterthought. At an ADP of 212, he is almost 100 picks after Dulcich or Okonkwo. Little stands out about McBride’s rookie year, except a Week 17 performance where he recorded 7-78-1. Only Isaiah Likely and Jelani Woods beat those seven receptions as rookie tight ends, recording performances of eight catches. Yes, Zach Ertz is in Arizona, but no team is more evident about entering a rebuild, and Ertz would reap $9.5 million in cap savings with a trade. McBride may not carry the apparent upside as other sophomore tight ends, but he is worth targeting.

Player Receiving 3 Votes

Jake Ferguson, Dallas Cowboys

Jeff Tefertiller: As a rookie last year, Ferguson caught 19 of his 22 targets for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns while playing behind Dalton Schultz. Schultz is now in Houston, and Dallas drafted Luke Schoonmaker in the 2023 NFL Draft. Schoonmaker was in a walking boot for most of OTAs. Tight end is a position that has been historically difficult for rookies to emerge, and Ferguson is poised to play a big role in the Cowboys offense this season.

Chad Parsons: While in a TE2 committee with Peyton Hendershot as a rookie, Ferguson flashed efficiency and production as a receiver. Dalton Schultz exits the Dallas offense, and Luke Schoonmaker, the notable addition with pedigree (Round 2 selection), is dealing with a foot injury and condition which could derail any early progress to the field. Should Ferguson win (or by default have) the starting job, there is TE12 or better upside by the level of the Dallas offense alone.

Jeff Haseley: The Cowboys moved on from Dalton Schultz and drafted Luke Schoonmaker as a move for the future. While Schoonmaker gets up to speed and learns the position at the next level, I expect Jake Ferguson to be the main receiving threat at tight end for Dak Prescott this season. Ferguson caught a meager 19 receptions, but he also saw limited snaps as the main tight end on the field. He could reach the 50-catch mark with 4-5 touchdowns.

Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers

Hutchinson Brown: We all know rookie quarterbacks who are still learning and developing like a dependable option, and when you see a 6-foot-4, 245-pound athlete with a 71% career catch rate, you may wanna call that dependable. With the Bengals, Hurst just never got the volume consistently enough due to the elite wide receivers in front of him. But there were some games where he got the volume, and he produced good numbers. In games where Hurst saw at least 6 targets, here were his weekly finishes: TE13, TE21, TE5, TE8, TE10. In this Carolina offense, there’s a huge opening for volume. At his current ADP of TE25, he’s definitely worth the dart. There aren’t many tight ends in fantasy who could lead his team in targets, and Hurst is one of those few.

Nick Whalen: The Panthers WR room is one of the worst in the NFL, with the last 1,000-yard season coming in 2019 by D.J. Chark Jr Per PFF, Miles Sanders was the worst-graded receiving running back in the NFL within a minimum number of snaps. The floor for Hayden Hurst is higher than his ranking because of the lack of quality receiving options around him in Carolina. The TE position is about chasing opportunities and targets, which are ripe for the taking. As a receiving threat, Hurst has graded out well in 3 of 5 seasons in the NFL as well.

Gary Davenport: Is Hurst ever going to live up to his first-round pedigree? Nope. Will he ever live down being drafted by the same team the same year as Mark Andrews? Also nope. But Hurst showed some flashes in his lone year in Cincinnati, and right now, the Panthers passing game consists of a has-been (Adam Thielen), a sorta-was (D.J. Chark), an inefficient receiving back in Miles Sanders and most likely a rookie quarterback in Bryce Young. When things start breaking down in Carolina this year (and they will), Young is going to want to get rid of the rock. To dump it short. And that’s going to mean plenty of targets for Sanders and Hurst, who is headed into the best statistical season of his career. That’s right. I said it.